India is in cusp of new age to extract maximum from renewable and conventional sources of power in a sustainable manner said Dr Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman , Atomic Energy Commission addressing the two day NTPC – NETRA R &D Conference for Energy Sustainability which began today. He said India is a vast country and there is a need to use all available sources as integral part of energy mix for providing energy security. Quality of life of people in a country is directly proportionate to the average consumption of electricity, he added. He named solar and nuclear energy are the future sources of energy and all other resources shall deplete over a period of time. He emphasized on the need for demand driven R & D and indigenous solutions for peculiar Indian requirements like coal with high ash content etc.
Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member Niti Ayog in his address said that 21st century is in precarious condition with the demand of energy growing at a fast pace adding to green house gas emissions threatening conventional energy sources by depleting them. He spoke about new impetus to the power sector through new schemes by Govt. of India like Deen Dayal Upadhaye Gram Jyoti Yojna , National solar Mission and Rural Electrification which are an integrated approach to harness all sources of energy. He emphasized on the need for strong R &D infrastructure and NTPC’s role for meeting the future challenges. Dr. Saraswat appreciated NETRAs efforts towards mitigatingcritical environmental issues like reduction of green house gases and efficiency enhancement of power plant equipments.
Dr. Ajay Mathur, DG TERI said that NTPC has institutionalized excellence in the sector through efficiency, reliability and affordability as key areas for success in the power sector.Speaking on the expectations from the conference Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC said he was looking forward to solutions for new challenges emerging in the sector such as affordable power for the consumers, integration with grid of electricity generated from renewable and conventional sources. He said the research activity targeted towards storage of green energy, water preservation , ash utilization is the need of the hour.Shri AK Jha, Director (Technical ) NTPC emphasized on the need for high end technology oriented proactive and collaborative R&D required to meet challenges of high growth plan and ensuring energy sustainability.
A compendium of Abstracts of Technical Papers and NTPC- NETRA Technical Journal was unveiled on the occasion by the dignitaries. The conference shall provide an opportunity to share latest R &D initiatives in the power sector from across the world.
